In 2011, ALBA, in
partnership with the Puffin Foundation,
began a major new initiative: the ALBA/Puffin Human Rights Project (HRP),
established to honor the International Brigades and all those who fought
against fascism during the Spanish Civil War by connecting that legacy with
international activist causes today, in particular the defense of human rights.

The project consists of
two primary components: an annual ALBA/Puffin Award for Human Rights Activism
in the amount of $100,000, and an informal international network of allied
organizations working in the area of human rights, historical memory, and the
legacy of the International Brigades.

The ALBA Human Rights
Project connects directly to the historical experiences, aspirations, and
idealism of the Lincoln Brigade. In the
years after the Spanish Civil War, many of the vets committed their lives
to assisting political prisoners around the world—particularly in Spain
and Latin America — aiding political refugees, advocating for social justice,
actively defending imperiled democratic institutions, or mobilizing the arts
for worthy activist causes. Recent developments in Spain, Latin America, the
Arab world and elsewhere have focused world attention on the human rights
issues associated with the legacies of dictatorships: the need for working
through the violent past, recovering historical memory and honoring the rights
of victims of repression. The annual ALBA/Puffin Human Rights Activism Award,
which is intended to continue for a minimum of 10 years, aims to support this
work and to keep it in the public eye.

The
aging vets’ continued presence at the forefront of progressive causes never
ceased to inspire younger generations of activists. Now that the vets have all but disappeared, the
ALBA/Puffin Human Rights project seeks to honor the Lincoln Brigade’s legacy by
extending it to the new human rights challenges of the 21st century.

The nomination call for the 2015 ALBA/Puffin Award closed on 21 August 2014.

2015 ALBA/Puffin Award for Human Rights Activism

About the Award:

The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives and the Puffin
Foundation invite nominations for the ALBA/Puffin Award for
Human Rights Activism. The Award is granted on an annual basis to
individuals or organizations whose work has had an exceptionally positive
impact on the advancement and/or defense of human rights.

The Activism Award was established in 2011 to honor the
International Brigades and all those who fought against fascism during the
Spanish Civil War by connecting that legacy with international activist causes
today, in particular the defense of human rights.

The Award will be presented at an official ceremony in New
York in the spring of 2015. A $100,000 cash award will be given to the
laureate individual or organization to support his/her ongoing work in the area
of Human Rights Activism.

How to Apply:

Please email complete nominations to info@alba-valb.org, subject line: “ALBA-Puffin Award for HR Activism, 2015” by 31 August 2014. The application must include the following
information: